Putin will not have the quick and easy victory he had been hoping for in Europe’s biggest ground war since 1945.
Russian forces gathered around Kyiv are preparing for a multi-pronged attack on the capital still held by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian General Staff expected Kharkiv to fall within hours of the invasion. Two weeks later, despite repeated attacks, she is still resisting.
A general who led the attack was even killed there. Major General Vitaly Gerasimov had recently met with Putin to discuss the offensive.
Several Russians killed
Many young soldiers did not know that they were going to take part in the invasion of Ukraine, a brother country for many Russians.
The morale of Russian soldiers and officers is near breaking point. According to US military intelligence, Russian soldiers sabotaged their tanks and vehicles, which sport a marker to differentiate them from Ukrainian vehicles.
Moreover, the letter Z quickly became the emblem of Putin’s supporters. There are several theories about its meaning. It symbolizes among other things za pobedu (for victory, in Russian). Others see a similarity with the Nazi symbol, “Putin’s swastika”.
” Angry “
CIA Director William Burns hinted at a congressional hearing yesterday that Putin was “angry and frustrated” and that “the next few weeks will be ‘awful’ in Ukraine”.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines adds that Putin sees the conflict “as a war he cannot afford to lose”.